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business development

Marketing fundamentals: Know, like, trust, buy from, and refer

by Peter Osborne on August 20, 2010 · 0 comments

“The process by which companies create customer interest in products or services. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business development.  It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves.”

That’s marketing, according to Wikipedia.  Sounds complicated.  And expensive.  And something that small businesses and consultants/contractors might not be inclined to try.

Or you could go with this definition:  “Getting someone with a need, to know, like, trust, contact, and refer you.”  That’s the definition of marketing from John Jantsch, author of both Duct Tape Marketing and newly-published The Referral Engine.  I’d probably substitute the phrase “buy from” for contact but that’s quibbling.  This is a definition that you can get behind.  It’s simple.  And it doesn’t feel all that expensive.

My advice for today is pretty simple:  If you think about how your decisions are going to impact people’s ability and/or willingness to know, like, trust, buy from and refer you and then act accordingly, you’ll find you have suddenly changed your approach to marketing and put yourself on the path to success.

Spend some time this weekend thinking about ways to achieve this in your business.  How can you add value to simple transactions?  How can you add value without a transaction? Can you explain what you do in a clearer way?  Can you eliminate barriers to marketing success and make it easier to buy from you?  Can you do something special for a customer that leads them to tell others about you?

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HARO: Free publicity for subject-matter experts

by Peter Osborne on July 30, 2010 · 0 comments

Letting people know you're out there is the first step to establishing your credibiity as a subject-matter expert.

So you’re a new consultant — or you’ve been in business for awhile — and you just can’t seem to get traction against more established competitors.  And you don’t have  a lot of money to advertise or to hire a PR person to promote your brand.  And you worry that part of the problem — to steal from the theme song from Cheers — is that nobody knows your name.

Well, one alternative is subscribing to the Help a Reporter Out (HARO) service.  HARO says that every day it  ”brings nearly 30,000 reporters and bloggers, over 100,000 news sources and thousands of small businesses together to tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services.”  It says it has published “more than 75,000 journalist queries, has facilitated nearly 7,500,000 media pitches, and has marketed and promoted close to 1,500 brands to the media, small businesses and consumers.”

HARO is completely free.  The process is simple: You go to their site and sign up.   What you’re signing up to receive are three e-mails per day with a list of stories that reporters and bloggers are working on, complete with a description of the story and a contact link.  If the story seems to be in your area of expertise, you click on the link and respond to the inquiry.  Very easy.

Now keep in mind that a lot of people subscribe so you may have some competition.  You can limit the e-mails to only topics that are in your wheelhouse. And you can normally set your watch by the arrival of the HARO e-mails and it’ll take all of a minute to quickly check the topics.  And speed of response often matters; a lot of these people are on deadline.

Take a look and give it a try.  But keep in mind that the reporters and bloggers are not necessarily your friends.  If you’re not prepared — and that includes thinking through how what you’re saying will look in print, searchable and on the Internet for eternity.  A few tips:

  • Anticipate the questions you might get and prepare talking points.
  • Keep those talking points short, but be quotable (i.e., don’t be boring).
  • Avoid abusing your competitors.

Please feel free to add additional tips or ways to improve your chances of helping a reporter out.

HARO is entirely free to sources and reporters, and unlike a majority of social media services, is independently owned and funded and has been profitable since day one. In addition, HARO serves as a vital social networking resource for sources, reporters and advertisers who use the service at www.helpareporter.com .

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Subcontracting can help build your portfolio

by Peter Osborne on July 18, 2010 · 1 comment

Today’s post was written by Consultant Launch Pad co-founder Michael Brown, the president of StrategyMark Inc, which provides consulting services to the specialty chemicals industry.

Subcontracting for another firm can provide a terrific foundation for an early-stage consultant.

Subcontracting for another consulting firm can be a great strategy for getting your own practice started.  It not only gets the cash flowing quickly but comes with other benefits including:

  • The other consulting firm has already sold the project, enabling you to get started more quickly because it eliminates the normal leadtime required for getting new business.  You can still start prospecting directly with clients while you are subcontracting so you reap the benefits as the sub-contracting gig ends.
  • Subcontracting is another “toe in the water” approach to testing the profession and making sure you have what it takes to be a consultant (see earlier blog on Microconsulting for another “toe in the water” approach)
  • Subcontracting is a wonderful learning experience and a great way to see the inner workings of an established consulting firm, including the sales process, customer interactions, and financial structure
  • For those who dislike selling, subcontracting can even extend beyond start-up and become the core of the practice.
  • It can provide you with case studies and a list of “clients” that can build both your reputation and provide heft to your marketing materials. 

Subcontracting does bring a couple of significant downsides:

  • The rates/fees are usually much lower than those of your “real” direct clients simply because there is another consulting firm marking up your rates for its client and it needs room for a reasonable mark-up margin while still remaining competitive.  If the rate you negotiate is substantially lower, make sure you get something in return (e.g., guaranteed work, office support, training/learning opportunity).  B e sure to lay the groundwork for raising your rates over time, since, once someone starts paying you a certain rate, they may expect to pay that same rate forever.
  • Many consulting firms require non-compete and non-disclosure agreements with their subcontractors.  Depending on your practice and field of work, this may limit your abilities to work with certain clients and slow the growth of your practice.  Try to limit non-competes to a short term and made sure the field is not open-ended; instead, list the excluded clients by name.

Subcontracting continues to be a small but important part of my established practice.  It comes to me through my network and I do not actively pursue it.  While the rates are lower, I find it refreshing to work with other consultants and learn their style and approach as well as swap client war stories!  That said, here are a couple of tips for generating work like this:

  • Add something to your LinkedIn profile and other marketing collateral that says you are open to this kind of work.
  • Let other consultants know you’re interested in this kind of business.
  • Identify consultants or consulting firms that serve similar types of clients but may not serve your particular niche.  Offer them a chance to expand their services.  For example, if you have extensive experience writing business plans or RFP responses, a branding agency that focuses on developing logos, taglines, and websites might be interested in that skill.
  • Listen carefully when networking.  If someone tells you how busy they are, ask questions instead of congratulating them.  Offer them a chance to take less-profitable, time-consuming functions off their plates, particularly if they don’t enjoy them (e.g., technical types often dislike formatting reports or creating charts).

Consultant Launch Pad co-founder Peter Osborne contributed to this post.

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Is the (RFP) juice worth the squeeze?

by Peter Osborne on July 13, 2010 · 1 comment

Is the juice worth the squeeze=Is this worth the effort?

Sometimes the best deal is no deal.

Inevitably, new consultants are going to find there’s an RFP in the way of winning new business and see it as a great opportunity to add desperately needed revenues.  That’s not always true.  Ask yourself a few key questions before committing the resources (i.e., the time and distraction) to respond to an RFP.  Among those questions:
  • Is this opportunity a good fit for you from a strategic point of view (e.g.., does it support your personal brand, does it open a new market, would winning it provide credibility with other prospects, is it a good fit for your portfolio career)?
  • Is the client really looking for a new partner or is this a way for them to get some free consulting/fresh ideas that they will turn over to the “winner?”
  • Is this a proposal that can be won with a strong value proposition or is the decision going to be made on the basis of money?  And do you care?
  • Is the incumbent participating?  If not, why not?
  • What’s the client’s financial situation?  And the corollary to that one, is this a client you would be proud to be associated with?
  • Did you influence the RFP specifications in some way?  If you didn’t, who did?  And did that person or organization insert specifications that make it a bad deal for you?
  • What is their budget?  Why are they issuing an RFP?
  • Do you understand the decision process? If so, are you in a good position?

In many cases, the consultant driving the RFP or the company itself (if it is working without a consultant) may put something in the document that says you can’t ask questions or get additional information (or that you have to go through the consultant).  Your goal in those situations should be to change the ground rules and find out all you can about this opportunity.  In a future blog, I’ll talk about ways you can do that and still get the business.

If you want it.

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Microconsulting: Putting your toe in the water

by Peter Osborne on July 9, 2010 · 1 comment

Michael D. Brown is co-founder of Consultant Launch Pad. He has worked in the chemicals industry for more than 30 years, 12 of that as a consultant.

There are ways to see if consulting is right for you without a full commitment

A friend recently asked me about consulting and I shared with him my experiences and advice.  As my enthusiasm built, I could tell he was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and a little skeptical.  As I probed a little I found he was excited about the rewards of consulting but deeply concerned about the risks.  Of particular concern was the perception that he would be starting up a business he knew little about.  Our conversation turned to whether there was a way to put a “toe in the water” of consulting before “jumping in over his head.”

The answer is yes, sort of.  Depending on your capabilities and value proposition, it might be possible to “micro-consult” conducting tiny projects and services for a very modest fee (sometimes a few minutes consulting for as little as $5).  The wonders of the internet have made it possible to match consultants and clients at very low costs thus enabling micro-businesses that would have been impossible in the past.  Several sites serve the micro-consulting market including fiverr.com, liveperson.com, and elance.com to name a few.  Each site has a different approach, but the premise is the same – very small quick-turnaround projects.  Anne Kadet of SmartMoney magazine covers the topic quite nicely.

A disclaimer and word of caution – I have tried these sites without much luck.  That is because I have an established practice and found the sites were a distraction and that my fees were just not competitive.  Furthermore, I do not believe it is possible to build a large consulting practice with this business model alone.  You would have to be extraordinarily productive to complete enough projects to have a relevant income.  Rather, I believe these sites allow budding consultants to put a “toe in the water” and see if consulting is for them on a small scale before “jumping in over your head.”  At a minimum it exposes the budding consultant on a very small scale to the realities of writing scopes of work, estimating time and fees and participating in a competitive market.

Michael Brown is president of StrategyMark Inc., which provides consulting services to the specialty chemicals industry.

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Blogroll on Steroids

by Peter Osborne on July 4, 2010 · 0 comments

Hi, there.  Just getting back from some community fireworks and got to thinking that we’re building a community that wants you to be successful and see your revenues go off like the finale of tonight’s show (OK, I know the analogy was a bit weak, but I wanted to tie this a bit to the Fourth before the clock strikes midnight).

Based on where Google Analytics says our visitors are going, I wanted to point you toward a page we think is special and ask for your input to make it even more special. 

Other peoples’ Blogrolls often run down the right column of their blogs.  But it’s not always clear why some of them exist from the titles.  Some are obvious, of course.  You see Tom Peters’ name, you’re pretty sure you know what you’re going to get when you click.  Same with Chris Brogan or Duct Tape Marketing.  Others…not so easy.

So I created our Blogroll on a different page, organized it by Categories, and added a phrase or two about each one — an introduction if you will, just to save you a bit of time.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do a bit of exploring and see if you like someone new, but it’s a start.  Because we know how busy you are.  These are the people who will help you move into Free Agent Nation, to help you get started or be more successful in your portfolio career.

And here’s my request:  I want this page to have a lot more interesting people who can help you find new customers, be more effective, and think about a range of different subjects in a different way.  If you have some suggestions, go to the bottom of the page and tell me (and everyone else) whose blog you can’t live without on a regular basis.  I’d like to say that it’ll take two or three recommendations of the same person to make the list, but who knows…if one person makes a suggestion of someone I really like, they’re going to make the list.  Please consider Tweeting the Blogroll (or retweating this post) so we can get a broader range of recommendations.

So who do you like?

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Balancing consulting, job search can be challenging

by Peter Osborne on June 16, 2010 · 0 comments

“Be careful,” someone told me around this time last year.  “You’re going to find it really difficult to try to build a consulting business and continue doing an effective full-time job search. 

He was right.  And he hadn’t even mentioned the third leg of the stool: family responsibilities, which included travel sports, college applications and visits, and a host of other distractions (including spending more time with my wife now that I was at home most of the time) .

So I focused more on the consulting than the job search.  Sure, I responded to some job postings, did a lot of networking, spent time on Indeed.com and Netshare, and got a few interviews (it’s ugly out there for a former credit-card executive) but more of my time has been spent on prospecting for clients and doing the work. 

I’m constantly plagued with doubts as to whether I took the right path.  My value proposition as a consultant is somewhat different from what I’d be looking for in a full-time position.  There have been more down months than up months, revenue-wise.  Severence ended a long time ago.  But I truly believe that Consultant Launch Pad will provide a valuable service to people like me and that there will be reasonable opportunities to make money by providing valuable services to this community.

But if you’re in the same boat I was (and am) in — consulting may have become a necessity instead of an option — and you’re thinking about balancing a job search and consulting/contracting, you need to consider a few things:

  • Don’t waste “personal contact” and “networking opportunities on ordinary job-hunting.  It will confuse the people you’re talking to and your answer will probably confuse them when they ask “what do you need from me.’
  • A timely consulting proposal shows you off as a potential employee.  The whole business-development process normally gives you access to high-level contacts you might not otherwise meet, provides you with something meaningful to talk about, requires you to show your credentials, and forces you to operate in a “selling” mode.
  • Consulting gives you a greater opportunity to “audition” for the job with far lower risk to the prospective employer.  And remember, the job market is less about finding the perfect person than it is about not filling the job with the wrong person.
  • Not getting a consulting or contract seems, at least to me, to be far less personal or depressing than getting a “no” to a job application.
  • It may be easier getting a “yes” when you’re taking a portfolio approach (i.e., looking to get 4-5 ongoing projects that may take advantage of a range of skills and provide you with an acceptable combined income).  Companies are more willing these days to spend a few thousand dollars a month with no benefits and no overhead than they are to committing to a full-time person.

This is not an easy decision and should not be entered into out of desperation if you can avoid it.  Skills that worked well in a corporate environment may not work as well when it’s just you.  It’s different executing on someone else’s idea than it is finding someone who has a problem that you can help fix, often when other people in the company resent your presence or have other priorities.  But it can also be extremely gratifying when you get that “yes” on a project and do such a good job that the client hires you for more projects or tells others about you. 

Let me turn to more experienced consultants for a little third-party perspective.  Please use the Comments box to outline a typical day in your life of balancing actual projects with your sales efforts (and family responsibilities).  I believe readers thinking about making the leap will see just how difficult it is to find enough hours in a day…with a full-time search on top of things.

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Build your network in a strategic way

by Peter Osborne on June 15, 2010 · 0 comments

Networks exist to help each other

When I left the bank 18 months ago, I had less than 100 LinkedIn connections.  Today, I have 414, and they’re connected to a total of 6 million professionals.  More important, I’ve gone from about 80% of my network being co-workers to a signficantly lower percentage.   The point is that if you’re not working to expand your network to something somewhat less incestuous (i.e., everyone knows everyone else because all anyone is doing is connecting to co-workers), then the rest of this posting may not help you all that much.

New consultants will spend far more time on prospecting for new clients that they expect.  As you grow your network, there are a number of ways you can leverage that group to find new clients and build a portfolio career across a variety of industries and regions.  You can ask them to:

  • Validate your value proposition (i.e., confirm that your view of your strengths are shared by those who know you well and may be a touch more objective)  They may well see the thing(s) that will differentiate you as being something much different than what they may have said in a fomal review.
  • Introduce you to other people in their networks, particularly as you begin to target specific companies as prospective clients.  This is the so-called “warm introduction,” where a more personal introduction is far more effective than clicking Add XXX to Your Network or doing a third-party request.
  • Provide references and testimonials, and perhaps even write a Recommendation that you can post on your LinkedIn profile.
  • Be part of a focus group for your business or for a specific study or survey that you plan to write to demonstrate your expertise or to provide as a “freebie” on your website to improve your traffic.
  • Provide feedback on your business plan, website, or key start-up decisions (e.g., LLC vs. S corp).
  • Be part of your consultancy’s “advisory board.”  This can be effective if you’ve cultivated people for your network who are well-known within your industry or target market.
  • Help you raise money for your venture or for an expansion.
  • Proofread documents or marketing collateral before sending it out to sales prospects.  This can avoid huge embarassment if you have an ugly typo or two.  You can also click here if you’d like some tips on proofreading if you can’t find anyone to help you.

Your LinkedIn network is not designed to prove you’re popular or provide you with a distraction during slow times.  Build your network strategically and use it to figure out answers to difficult questions or connect with someone who can help you grow your business.  And don’t forget that to get help you need to offer it too.  I’ve always been a big believer in karma as it relates to this kind of thing and the sooner you focus on helping others, someone else will focus on helping you.

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Avoid sales minefields: Lead them on a journey

by Peter Osborne on June 14, 2010 · 0 comments

What statement will derail the sales process?

One of my sons started off a conversation that involved his effort to get me to give him money by saying, “you’re going to love this idea.”

That statement rarely turns out well for the person who says it.

My initial thoughts were, in order, “I doubt it” and then “I wonder what this is going to cost me.”  If it had been one of the other sons, the first thought probably would have been “wanna bet,” but that’s a result of past experience.  This is an opening line that breeds skepticism.  Better approaches to making the sale include:

  • Help the prospect see your idea in full living color with story-telling and visual images.  This idea, by the way, extends to presentation decks where you should avoid lots of bullets and standard clip art and use images that complement your storytelling.  For example, I use a photo of a tiger peering out of a forest for slides about lurking danger, images of elevator doors to start a discussion about options, and a picture of Peter Falk as Columbo to illustrate a slide on asking lots of questions. 
  • Get rid of the handouts but use leave-behinds. But don’t hand out the leave-behinds at the beginning and say they’re leave-behinds. Wait until you’re actually leaving.
  • Once you’ve made the sale, stop selling.  How many times have you been in meetings where the salesperson was so intent on getting through his or her deck that the sale was lost by an errant or misplaced bullet point?
  • Aim high.  My friend, sports agent extraordinare Ron Shapiro, urges negotiators to Aim High.  Do the same in your sales.  While there are benefits to taking an incremental approach once you have the business and bringing about change, don’t play it safe during the sales process.  Be logical and clear, but paint a greater vision.  Bring the prospect along on a journey and encourage them to feel a part of figuring out the solution.

One thing that most consultants have in common is the need to constantly sell, particularly those who are trying to build a portfolio of projects or clients that provide consistent income.  When selling yourself (your skills, experience, and value proposition), what approaches do you take?

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30 Second Launch Pad: Go to work every day

May 23, 2010

Sam Waltz is director of Mergers and Acquisitions for RLSassociates.com Investment Banking, Mergers & Acquisitions and founder of Sam Waltz & Associates LLC Business and Communications Counsel.  He is also former chair of the Public Relations Society of America. For more information on Sam or to contact him, click on his LinkedIn profile or go to his [...]

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